Hair dryer

ABSTRACT

A hair dryer comprises a plurality of components interrelated by means operable manually without the use of tools, said components including a housing component having a motor and blower assembly and providing hair dryer hat and cord storage space with a releasable closure insert and a control box component containing a pair of heaters and a thermostat assembly and providing a choice of heat settings. The electrical circuitry is arranged within the components so that assembly completes the internal electrical circuitry and disconnection of the dryer from the power supply cord must be made before disassembly. A hose providing flow communication between the control box component and the hair dryer hat is received within a peripheral groove in the housing component with an access groove adjacent thereto on the control box component to provide a compact, portable unit with readily replaceable components.

United States Patent [72] lnventor Raymond L.1-1anisco Lansdale, Pa.

[21] Appl. No. 865,319

[22 Filed Oct. 10, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 3, 1971 [73] Assignee Proctor-Silex incorporated Philadelphia, Pa.

[54] HAIR DRYER 12 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. C1.. 34/99 [51) lnt.Cl ....A45d 20/18 [50] Field of Search 34/99- 101; 132/9; 339/126 R, 126 RS; 219/363, 364, 369, 370, 371,372

Primary Examiner- Frederick L. Matteson Assislanl ExaminerHarry B. Ramey Anorney Robert S. Vermut ABSTRACT: A hair dryer comprises a plurality of components interrelated by means operable manually without the use of tools, said components including a housing component having a motor and blower assembly and providing hair dryer hat and cord storage space with a releasable closure insert and a control box component containing a pair of heaters and a thermostat assembly and providing a choice of heat settings. The electrical circuitry is arranged within the components so that assembly completes the internal electrical circuitry and disconnection of the dryer from the-power supply cord must be made before disassembly. A hose providing flow communication between the control box component and the hair dryer hat is received within a peripheral groove in the housing component with an access groove adjacent thereto on the control box component to provide a compact, portable unit with readily replaceable components.

PATENIED ms 397:

SHEET 1 OF 6 8| INVENTOR RAYMOND L. HANISCO BY ffiws )fl r FIG. 2

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IN V E N TOR RAYMOND L. HANISCO BY @wtzi g ATTOR N EY IIAIR DRYER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of dryers and, more particularly, portable dryers adapted for use in drying the hair, nails, and other objects having a substantially confined moisture content.

2. Description of the Prior Art The electric and/or portable dryer field has been developed significantly in recent years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,041 shows an electric dryer including simplified structural elements fabricated as readily replaceable subassemblies, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,317 shows a compact portable hair dryer including a carrying case containing the hat, hose and motor and control assemblies. The present invention, un like U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,041, provides for the interrelation of components by means manually operable without the use of tools. Also, the present invention differs from the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 2,667,041 in the provision of an electrical circuit which must be disconnected from the power supply before any disassembly of components, thus precluding access to live wires by the disassembler, The present invention differs from U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,317 in the provision of readily replaceable components as well as in the provision of electrical circuitry safe to the repairer.

The present invention differs from the prior art in the manner in which it interrelates its components to obtain desired safety, compactness and portability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed toward a drying unit comprising a plurality of components which are readily assembled and disassembled in a safe efficient manner.

With reference to the preferred embodiment, this invention is directed toward a safe, compact, portable hair and nail dryer comprising a plurality of components which are interrelated by means manually operable without the use of tools with disconnection from the power supply required before the components may be disassembled. This is accomplished by the provision of a housing component and a control box component which are interrelated by a snap latch action and provide alignment of a male electrical connector on the control box component with an access opening on the housing component so that interrelation of the male connector with a female connector through the access opening precludes separation of the two components.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dryer which is readily assembled and disassembled.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a safe, compact, portable hair and nail dryer of lightweight construction which can be assembled and disassembled manually without the use of tools.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when viewing the following description and claims in light of the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view of a hair dryer embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the hair dryer in FIG. 1 showing the relationship of bonnet, hose and remaining unit;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the hair dryer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the hair dryer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4; FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 5; FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. I; and

FIG. 10 is an exploded, perspective view broken away in part of the releasable strap connection.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawing with reference numerals, in FIGS. 1 and 2, a hair dryer comprising a housing component 5 on carrying case has connected thereto a control box component 6 including a legged base support 81 with a strap component 29 releasably connected to the housing component 5 by connecting means 31, 32.

The housing component comprises a pair of annular, peripheral flanges 2 spaced apart a distance slightly less than the outside diameter of a flexible hose 1 which is resiliently received within the peripheral channel 83 of the housing component as defined by the flanges 2.

As seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the housing 5 has a pair of spaced tabs 12 molded thereon for retaining the edge of cover insert 10. The insert 10, which may be decorated on its exposed surface, is releasably retained with respect to the housing and the fixed tabs 12 by a releasable retainer 11 shown in FIG. 9. The retainer 11, as can be noted in FIG. 9, is a flexible tab fixed to the housing by a rivet or the like at the end of an extended leg portion 70 to provide flexibility for movement by the finger of a user into and out of holding position of the insert 10 by a flange which overlies the edge of the insert 10. When the overlying flange of the retainer 11 is moved out of contact with the insert 10, the insert 10 may be lifted and slid out of retention by the fixed tabs 12. The insert 8, which may also be decorated on its exposed surface, is intended to be fixedly retained at all times by a pair of tabs similar to the tabs 12 and by a locking clip 9, as shown in FIG. 3, which, once snapped in retaining position, may not be removed, thus permanently fixing the insert 8.

The strap 29, as shown in FIG. 1 and in part in FIGS. 3 and 10, may be of leather, plastic, or other preferably axially firm material and is fixedly secured to the housing 5 at one end 30 and releasably secured to the housing 5 at other end by the hinge pin 31 pivotally fixed to the strap and a pin retainer 32 fixed to the housing 5 by screws or the like. Thus, the unit may be carried in hand when hinge pin 31 is free.

It should be noted that the channel 83 defined by the flanges 2 has a base portion 84 with a plurality of openings 7 therein which provide communication between the interior of the housing component 5 and ambient. The base portion 84 also provides the supporting area for the hose when in stored position.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing component 5 actually comprises two shells 34 and 35 of plastic molded material which face each other to define a closed inner area 85 and an outer depressed area 86 opening at the side covered by the insert l0 and adapted to store the hair dryer hat and power supply cored. The peripheral areas of the shells 34 and 35 are the flanges 2 which define the sides of the channel retaining hose 1. With the insert 10 removed, storage area 86 for the hat 3 and cord 4 is exposed along with the outer surface of the blower housing 13, the motor cover grill l4 and the latch actuator 15, the latter three elements to be discussed in more detail hereinbelow.

As seen in FIG. 4, the shells 34 and 35 are joined together as best seen in FIG. 6 by screws received in openings 43, the screws being hidden by the permanent insert 8. The shells 34 and 35 are further maintained in position by the integral flexible foot portion 36 of the shell 35 which provides in its contact with the shell 34 an air seal to the blower housing 13. The housing 13 for the motor 17 comprises the foot portion 36, a grill 14 over the motor 17 and a support plate 16 riveted to the foot portion 36 as at 37.

The electrical leads 18 of the motor 17 are connected to a terminal block 19 containing two spring contacts 20, the block being fixed to the motor plate 16. The terminal block is used for supplying electrical energy to the motor 17 for operation of the blower 21 fixed to the motor shaft 22. The shell 34 includes an upstanding wall 38 which terminates adjacent the support plate 16 with a flexible sealant material 41 therebetween to preclude undesirable air leakage.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, the latch means comprises the latch 23 attached to the motor plate 16 adjacent the terminal block 19 on the component and a locking tang 40 on the component 6, the latter having an opening 101 therethrough and the former having a pair of prongs 106 which are received within the opening 161 of the locking tang 40 in normal position biased by the spring 102. The latch actuator is preferably riveted to the latch 23 and acts on outward movement upon the grasping of its enlarged head portion to remove the prongs 106 from the opening 101 to thereby release the component 6 from the component 5.

The control box component 6, as seen in FIG. 3, becomes securely positioned with respect to component 5, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 6, by moving these components along the tracks and grooves 27 and 26 until interlocking action of the latch 23 and tang 40 on respective components 5 and 6. This positioning also causes contacts 26 to engage respective bussbars 53 and 55 to complete the electrical circuitry to the motor. The wall 38 has a leaf spring 39 attached to it for producing a constant bias on the component 6 keeping the latch 23 loaded against the locking tang 40. On operative positioning of components 5 and 6, the flow path is automatically sealed by'the sill plate 42, as seen in FIG. 5, affixed to shell 34 adjacent the blower tangential exhaust portion. The plate 42 overlies the flooring to the inlet area of component 6.

The component 6 is molded of plastic material and comprises a pair of shells 45 and 46 which readily fabricate into a lightweight unit for housing the electrical components.

The shell 46 has an area approximately centrally located for the acceptance of an element box 47 that contains a pair of heaters 48 and a thermostat assembly 49. The heaters are conventional subassemblies made of resistance wire wound in a coil form, extended, then wound on insulating cards allowing the air flow to pass between the resistance wire so that full advantage of the heat of the wire can be obtained. The two heaters 46 are set in a pos tion forming a V" fitting between a pair of adjacent corners of the box 47 and abut against each other at the center of the side of the box 47 opposite from the side defined by the corners. The thermostat assembly 49 for limiting the heater temperatures is located substantially centrally on the side of the box 47 defined by the corners contacting the heaters. A common bussbar is attached to one end of both heaters 46 and in turn is riveted to the bimetal thermostat blade 50, as best seen in FIG. 7. The opposite ends of the heaters 48 are connected to a rotary switch 51, as seen in FIG. I

5, by wiring retained in a chase 61 outside of the air flow areas. The switch 51 through molded plastic knob 62 provides for energizing the motor and either or both of the heaters as part of a parallel circuit for low, medium and high heat output as desired or only the blower. On the top of the element box 47 on a high temperature plastic plate 57 mounted on the box, a bussbar 53 with one end as a contact point for the thermostat assembly 49 and the other end acting as a contact blade providing one side of the voltage for the motor 17 is fastened. This bussbar also has a wire lead 54 attached by soldering to a contact pin of the male plug 26. Adjacent to the bussbar 53, another bussbar 55 is fastened with a wire lead 56 attached to the switch 51 to provide the other side of the line voltage for the motor 17.

A screen 67 is positioned at the outlet end of the box 47 to preclude the entry of foreign matter thereinto and also to preclude the entry of a users fingers into contact with live wires. Adjacent the screen 67 on the outlet end of the control box 6, a metal shield 68 is positioned to protect the walls of the molded plastic control box 6 from the heat given off by the heaters 48. This shield extends substantially to the outlet neck of the control box 6 over which is placed a drawn ring 59 which prevents the shells and 46, held together by screws, not shown, from spreading. The shells 45 and 46 along the inner portion of the outlet neck adjacent ring 59 are threaded for retaining the externally threaded end ofthe hose 1.

The hose is preferably made of flexible plastic with a metal coiled core permitting it to be compressed. The hose has a compressed length of approximately two-thirds its free length. The outlet end of the hose has a hose connector 33 of rigid molded plastic affixed thereto for connection to a grommet mounted on the hair dryer hat to complete the air system to the hat.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the male plug 26 is recessed within the component 6 and would be enclosed by the component 5 but for access opening 24 through which the female plug end 25 of the electrical supply cord 4 passes to engage the male plug 26. This access opening and the angular relationship of the abutting surface areas of components 5 and 6 adjacent thereto with respect to the direction of disassembly precludes removal of the control box component 6 from the housing component 5 while the female plug end 25 is in electrical contact with the male plug 26 through the access opening 24. Thus, a safety interlock is provided with requisite disconnection of the electrical circuitry from the power supply before disassembly of components 5 and 6 can be had.

With both inserts in position, the air flow pattern to the blower 21 thus follows from ambient through the openings 7 into the chamber 86 defined by the insert 10 and the foot portion 36 through the grill 14 and the grill of the support plate 16 to the blower 21. The blower then exhaust the air through the tangential exhaust portion (see adjacent plate 42 in FIG. 5) into the inlet portion of component 6 through and around the heaters into the hose and, finally, to the hair dryer hat.

The insert 10 may be removed either before or during operation of the hair dryer unit without affecting efficiency and merely changing the air flow pattern from an air inlet through the holes 7 to an air inlet directly through the motor cover grill 14.

When use of the unit is desired for drying fingernails, it is merely necessary to remove the decorative insert 10 to allow access to the electrical cord 4 for connection to a power supply and to snap the hose connector 63, as seen in FIG. 1, from between the flanges 2 by a finger access groove 64 and allow it to rest against the groove 64 on the control box component 6. Fingernails may then be positioned in the air stream until dry. Since the hose remains in channel 83 precluding ambient inflow through openings 7, the insert 10 shouldremain off to permit inflow through grill 14. 1

In using the unit as a hair dryer, the hair dryer hat3 and cord 4 are removed from the storage compartment after removal of the insert 10. The insert 10, may, if desired, be replaced with the cord 4 extending from the unit at the groove 86, as seen in FIG. 1. The hose 1 is then removed from between the flanges 2 and connected to the hair dryer hat 3 while the cord 4 is connected to a power supply. After the hat 3 is placed on a users head, the switch 51 may be actuated by the user through knob 62 to either of the low, medium or high heat settings. The switch also has on and off positions wherein the motor alone may be energized or deenergized to control cool air flow from the blower. In a return to nonuse of the unit, a user may follow the above procedure in reverse.

If repair is necessary, the unit may be disassembled once the cord 4 at its female plug end 25 is removed from the male plug 26. The latch actuator 15 is exposed as is plug end 25 by removal of the insert 10. Upon pulling the actuator against the spring bias acting on the latch 23, the prongs will be removed from the opening 101 of the tang 40 to permit removal of the component 6 from the component 5 along the tracks and grooves 27 and 26.

The unit may be carried in a hand or shoulder strap position and, as can be noted, replacement of the hat, hose, insert 10 and components 5 and 6 may be readily had manually without the use of tools. The components 5 and 6 are of substantially equal value and, thus, permit repair by the user without incurrence of the substantial expense of repair shop service.

Since the preferred embodiment may be modified as, e.g., by reversing the female and male plug ends 25 and 26, et cetera, within the scope of the present invention, the preferred embodiment should be viewed as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

l. A hair dryer comprising at least two components, one of said at least two components having first interrelating means and first electrical circuit means and a motor and blower assembly, and another of said at least two components having second interrelating means and second electrical circuit means and heating means, said first and second interrelating means and circuit means cooperating, respectively, to hold said components in assembled condition and define at least part of the electrical circuit, said interrelating means being manually cooperable to permit disassembly of the components from one another without the use of tools, and cord means adapted to releasably connect one of said first and second electrical circuit means to a power supply, said cord means being structurally related to each of said at least two components so that said disassembly must be accomplished by first disconnecting said cord means from said one of said first and second electrical circuit means.

2. A dryer comprising at least two components, one of said at least two components having first interrelating means and first electrical circuit means, and another of said at least two components having second interrelating means and second electrical circuit means, said first and second interrelating means and circuit means cooperating, respectively, to hold said components in assembled condition and define at least part of the electrical circuit, said interrelating means being manually cooperable to permit disassembly of the components from one another without the use of tools, one of said at least two components being a housing component which contains a motor and blower assembly, said first electrical circuit means comprising a terminal block having a pair of contact springs, and said another of said at least two components being a control box component which contains at least one heater and a thermostat assembly, and said second electrical circuit means comprising a pair of bussbars which, upon assembly of the housing and control box components, cooperate with respective contact springs to complete the internal electrical circuitry.

3. The dryer set forth in claim 2 wherein said housing component has a storage area containing a hat and a power supply cord, and a coverinsert positioned over said storage area for retaining said hat and power cord, said insert being removable to provide access to such storage area.

4. The dryer set forth in claim 1 wherein said first interrelating means comprises a latch member spring biased into latched position and said second interrelating means comprises a keeper engaged by said latch member.

5. The dryer set forth in claim 4 wherein said latch member has an actuator affixed thereto and extending without said one component to be graspable by the user to remove said latch member against said biasing from retention by said keeper.

6. The dryer set forth in claim 5 wherein said actuator is hidden by an insert releasably attached to said one component.

7. The dryer set forth in claim 1 wherein said first interrelating means comprises an access opening in said one component and said cord means having a female plug at one end, said second interrelating means comprises an access opening in said another component and a male plug connected to the electrical circuitry therein, said access openings and male plug being in substantial alignment and said components are held in assembled condition when said female plug engages said male plug through said access openings.

releasable secured at its other end to said one component.

10. A hair dryer comprising a housing component having a motor and blower assembly and a storage area containing a hair dryer hat and a power supply cord, and a control box component having at least one heater and a thermostat assembly, said components being interrelated by a latch member on one of said components and a keeper on the other of said components, said latch member having an actuator extending without said housing component.

11. The dryer set forth in claim 10 wherein said latch member is on said housing component and said keeper is on said control box component, and said components being further interrelated by an access opening in said housing component and said power supply cord, said cord having a female plug end, and an access opening in said control box component, a male plug within said control box component connected to the electrical circuitry therein, and said female plug end of said power supply cord when in engagement with said male plug through said access openings precludes disassembly of said housing and control box components.

12. A hair dryer comprising a housing component containing a motor and blower assembly and a control box component containing heating means and a thermostat assembly, said housing component having first interrelating means and first electrical circuit means, said control box component having second interrelating means and second electrical circuit means, said first and second interrelating means and circuit means cooperating, respectively, to hold said components in assembled condition and define at least part of the electrical circuit, at least one of said housing and control box components having structural means defining a spaced adapted to receive a hair dryer bonnet and a power supply cord and to provide access to at least one of said first and second interrelating means, releasable securing means positioned adjacent said structural means, and closure means releasably secured to said at least one of said housing and control box components by said releasable securing means and positioned over said space to preclude access to said space including said at least one of said first and second interrelating means. 

1. A hair dryer comprising at least two components, one of said at least two components having first interrelating means and first electrical circuit means and a motor and blower assembly, and another of said at least two components having second interrelating means and second electrical circuit means and heating means, said first and second interrelating means and circuit means cooperating, respectively, to hold said components in assembled condition and define at least part of the electrical circuit, said interrelating means being manually cooperable to permit disassembly of the components from one another without the use of tools, and cord means adapted to releasably connect one of said first and second electrical circuit means to a power supply, said cord means being structurally related to each of said at least two components so that said disassembly must be accomplished by first disconnecting said cord means from said one of said first and second electrical circuit means.
 2. A dryer comprising at least two components, one of said at least two components having first interrelating means and first electrical circuit means, and another of said at least two components having second interrelating means and second electrical circuit means, said first and second interrelating means and circuit means cooperating, respectively, to hold said components in assembled condition and define at least part of the electrical circuit, said interrelating means being manually cooperable to permit disassembly of the components from one another without the use of tools, one of said at least two components being a housing component which contains a motor and blower assembly, said first eleCtrical circuit means comprising a terminal block having a pair of contact springs, and said another of said at least two components being a control box component which contains at least one heater and a thermostat assembly, and said second electrical circuit means comprising a pair of bussbars which, upon assembly of the housing and control box components, cooperate with respective contact springs to complete the internal electrical circuitry.
 3. The dryer set forth in claim 2 wherein said housing component has a storage area containing a hat and a power supply cord, and a cover insert positioned over said storage area for retaining said hat and power cord, said insert being removable to provide access to such storage area.
 4. The dryer set forth in claim 1 wherein said first interrelating means comprises a latch member spring biased into latched position and said second interrelating means comprises a keeper engaged by said latch member.
 5. The dryer set forth in claim 4 wherein said latch member has an actuator affixed thereto and extending without said one component to be graspable by the user to remove said latch member against said biasing from retention by said keeper.
 6. The dryer set forth in claim 5 wherein said actuator is hidden by an insert releasably attached to said one component.
 7. The dryer set forth in claim 1 wherein said first interrelating means comprises an access opening in said one component and said cord means having a female plug at one end, said second interrelating means comprises an access opening in said another component and a male plug connected to the electrical circuitry therein, said access openings and male plug being in substantial alignment and said components are held in assembled condition when said female plug engages said male plug through said access openings.
 8. The dryer set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing component has a peripheral groove adapted to receive a flexible hose therein in an interference fit, and said control box component has a groove adjacent the outlet end of said hose to provide access to the outlet end of the hose to lift said end from within the peripheral groove of the housing component.
 9. The dryer set forth in claim 1 wherein said one component has a strap fixed at one end to said component and releasable secured at its other end to said one component.
 10. A hair dryer comprising a housing component having a motor and blower assembly and a storage area containing a hair dryer hat and a power supply cord, and a control box component having at least one heater and a thermostat assembly, said components being interrelated by a latch member on one of said components and a keeper on the other of said components, said latch member having an actuator extending without said housing component.
 11. The dryer set forth in claim 10 wherein said latch member is on said housing component and said keeper is on said control box component, and said components being further interrelated by an access opening in said housing component and said power supply cord, said cord having a female plug end, and an access opening in said control box component, a male plug within said control box component connected to the electrical circuitry therein, and said female plug end of said power supply cord when in engagement with said male plug through said access openings precludes disassembly of said housing and control box components.
 12. A hair dryer comprising a housing component containing a motor and blower assembly and a control box component containing heating means and a thermostat assembly, said housing component having first interrelating means and first electrical circuit means, said control box component having second interrelating means and second electrical circuit means, said first and second interrelating means and circuit means cooperating, respectively, to hold said components in assembled condition and define at least part of the electrical circuit, at least one of said housing aNd control box components having structural means defining a spaced adapted to receive a hair dryer bonnet and a power supply cord and to provide access to at least one of said first and second interrelating means, releasable securing means positioned adjacent said structural means, and closure means releasably secured to said at least one of said housing and control box components by said releasable securing means and positioned over said space to preclude access to said space including said at least one of said first and second interrelating means. 